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Well, the more I read on brine quenching, the more I wonder if I am willing to take a risk. So, I will start with Park 50 quenching a couple of blanks I profiled, and then experiment with brine on scrap metal.

Do you guys heat Park 50 or is it ready to use at room temperature (about 60F)?

M

"All beauty that has no foundation in use, soon grows distasteful and needs continuous replacement with something new." The Shakers' saying.

I to am getting a W2 blade ready, mine is 5/32, and in a French chefs stle blade of 12". What is the optimum HT temp and what s the optimum tempering temp? Is clay required to get a good hamon, or can it be edge quenched to recive the same effect?

Edge quenching will give you a hamon per se, but not with the activity of a clay coated blade. The clay allows you to follow a pattern, but it doesn't follow the pattern...As much as it would be cool lol. I had one follow the clay almost perfectly but it was a 3/16 fighter. You might get some minor activity out of an edge quench but it will be minimal compared to clay.

From the little I know, the quenching temperature for W2 can be somewhere between 1400-1450F. Temperature will be higher for oil (as Bill and Devin pointed out) and lower for water. The soak time will be shorter in a forge and longer in an oven. The tempering temperature can be somewhere between 375-450F.

Every batch of steel will respond differently to HT, so I normally do a test-heat treat on scrap metal, measure hardness after quench (have to be fast with W2 as it might crack on you), then after first temper and then after second temper. Then I make adjustments as needed to get RC hardness I am looking for in a final product.

M

"All beauty that has no foundation in use, soon grows distasteful and needs continuous replacement with something new." The Shakers' saying.

If you want a really active hamon, you should not go any higher than 1450 even with Parks. Guys like Don Hanson go as low as 1425, IIRC. I just did a long bowie skinny that is 12.5 inches long and 1 1.2 inches wide. I drew a line that ran parallel to the ricasso and brought my clay down to that point and then followed the curve of the tip.
I use my HT oven for austenizing and tempering, so I cannot put a quenched blade in immediately for tempering. I have to wait for it to cool down to where is is below 200F with the door open. I have never had a W2 or 1084 blade quenched in Parks go PING while waiting, I have had a very think Cru Forge blade tear itlself apart, however.

That's true, Joe. With a thin blade such as most kitchen knives, lower temp yields more vivid hamon in fast oil. I recall Don saying that, too. It helps to reduce grain size with thermal cycles before the quench. Some of the best results I've seen come from 1500, normalize to a black heat, 1475, normalize to a black heat, 1425 and quench in Parks 50. John White's method. Thin clay, 1/16" or even less. The repeated normalizing will help prevent warpage as well. I often just snap normalize once, then reheat to a lower temp and quench.

One nice thing about using oil rather than water or brine for the quench is you get the opportunity to scrub the clay off and do a quick etch-check in ferric chloride to see if the hamon came out OK. This can save you some tempering time and money if the results are disappointing. Clay it back up, and back in the forge.